WHY IS THE SN IMPORTANT IN THE TREATMENT OF BREAST CANCER?
Testing for metastatic cancer cells in the SN allows accurate staging using information from a single lymph node or a small number of nodes. Since the risk for positive axillary nodes ranges from 0 to 40 percent, many women could undergo SLND (Sentinel lymph node dissection) rather than complete axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) and in the process gain accurate information about the rest of the lymph nodes in the network without enduring the trauma of ALND. In other words IF THE SN NODE(S) WERE FOUND NEGATIVE, one would not have to remove more or excessive numbers of lymph nodes to get all the information needed to accurately stage the axilla and the cancer.
